1. Field of the Invention
The object of the present invention is a sport shoe for sports requiring a longitudinal mobility of the foot in relation to the leg and a good hold of the ankle, and is specifically adapted to walking (hiking, trekking) or cross-country skiing (but not ice skating).
2. Description of Background and Other Information
Such sports impose an effect on the shoe requiring front/back flexibility in the direction of displacement for extension/bending movements of the leg, and maximum rigidity in a perpendicular direction to the displacement for good ankle support.
German Utility Model G 88 07 537 proposes a cross-country ski boot more particularly adapted to the ice skating step.
This boot, represented in a side view of FIG. 1, is in fact a high shoe whose upper 1 extends above the malleolus of the user.
In order to provide strong lateral rigidity, this document proposes to join at 4, the heel cap 2 and a lower part of the upper a rigid collar 3 surrounding the top or rod 1a of the upper 1 and is provided with clamping devices 3a around the upper. Such a construction certainly permits some lateral support for the ankle of the user when executing ice skating steps, but on the contrary, allows only limited mobility in the longitudinal direction despite the rigid collar joint 3.
In effect, because this collar completely surrounds the top or rod 1a of the upper, pivoting forward or backward of the collar is limited by the inherent rigidity and the height of the &lt;upper&gt; itself, despite a certain suppleness of this &lt;upper&gt;.
As a consequence, in order to still permit a certain forward/back flexibility of the user's leg, the height of the upper 1 of such a boot must be limited, which is not compatible with a good lateral support of the leg. This known shoe upper thus hardly extends above the level of the malleolus, and the joint axis 4 of its collar 3 is low and definitely underneath the malleolus.
This kind of cross-country ski boot thus offers only minimal lateral support, because of its limited height, and only a reduced front/back mobility because of the presence of the upper interfering with the pivoting of the collar.
Mountain walking shoes for hiking or trekking traditionally have a high upper completely in leather.
Recently, research has been done to find lighter trekking shoes with leather uppers, or a strong fabric with leather reinforcements, or even all in plastic.
These different mountain shoes must all comply with the imperatives of strong support for the foot and ankle, notably for walking on rough or rocky terrains, and must also allow freedom of movement in the longitudinal direction for the foot in relation to the leg, in order not to interfere with the natural movement of the foot during walking.
Yet, present walking shoes with a high rigid upper, if they offer strong support for the foot, interfere with the natural movement of the foot during walking because the height and rigidity of the upper prevent much mobility in the longitudinal direction of the shoe.